United Nations

 NEW YORK, 7 November (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

On 31 October, the Secretary-General announced his intention to appoint Lieutenant General Daniel Ishmael Opande as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).  This would be the first of three appointments as part of the overhaul of the military leadership of the mission.

Born on 18 August 1943, Lt. General Opande is a graduate of the British Army Officer Cadet School (Sandhurst) where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 2 May 1964.  He rose in the army to his present appointment, having held various commands from platoon to garrison size.  He also served as Commandant of the National Defence College, Kenya's highest military institution.  General Opande is a graduate of the British Army Staff College and the United States National Defence University.

General Opande served as Deputy Force Commander with the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) in 1989-1990.  He represented Kenya on the Mozambican peace process as a facilitator and negotiator between the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) and the Government of Mozambique from 1990 to 1993, and served as Chief Military Officer of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia from 1993 to 1995.